“The state has taken an absolutely correct position” - religious scholar Filipovich on the ban of the UOC

Lyudmyla Fylypovych, a lobbyist for the OCU in the media, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor at the Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, considers the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to be the “right position” of the state. Fylypovych confirms that the process of implementing Law 3894 will be long and difficult, but the state has enough mechanisms to implement this idea. She said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

“As an expert who studies the history of religion, I want to say that these processes are very, very slow. Religion belongs to a sphere of human activity that takes time. It is impossible to change brains even with some very radical order in one second. And this law concerns the highest echelons of power in this church. We understand perfectly well that many of the hierarchs of this church studied either in Moscow or St. Petersburg, and they probably retained good relations with their classmates, and maybe even with their teachers. Many of them have relatives in Russia,” – notes Filipovych.

At the same time, the religious scholar claims that the state has taken the right position on this issue. With the help of the judiciary, the country will be able to resolve the issue with the UOC, giving the procedure signs of legality.

“The state has taken an absolutely correct position – it does not deviate from the rule of law. It believes that only the court can find a particular representative of the church guilty, and no one will judge an entire parish or an entire diocese, but claims will be made against the head of church structures,” – she added.

As reported, on April 7, 2025, the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, Viktor Yelensky, met with an OSCE delegation led by the High Commissioner on National Minorities, Christoph Kamp. Among the issues discussed, the OSCE representatives drew the attention of the Ukrainian official to the anti-church law No. 3894, which bans the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.